A Maine Christmas…Or Two: A Duet by J.S. Scott & Cali MacKay

Book One: The Billionaire’s Angel by J.S. Scott (The Billionaire’s Obsession Christmas Story)

Considered an eccentric beast by most of the residents in Amesport, Maine, Billionaire Grady Sinclair stays isolated on his private peninsula in a grand mansion most people are afraid to approach. The arrangement suits Grady just fine, until a fearless angel lands on his doorstep, making him painfully aware of how lonely he really is, and how much he wants to keep the fiery blonde cherub for his very own. But will he have to become the monster the townspeople believe him to be in order to get his Christmas wish?

Emily Ashworth needs money, and plenty of it. As director of the Youth Center of Amesport, she either finds the funds she needs to supply Christmas presents and other items she needs to purchase to give the kids of Amesport a Christmas, or they won’t have one at all. Desperate, she ventures to the Amesport Peninsula to ask the wealthiest person in the area to provide a Christmas for her misplaced, abused, or troubled kids, and to help keep the doors of the much-needed refuge open. Emily is shocked when she meets Grady, and surprisingly more attracted to him than she has ever been to any man. He might have seemed like a barbarian in the beginning, but Emily quickly learns that Grady is nothing like she’d imagined. Was the monster of Amesport truly the very devil, or just a lonely man who needs the gift of love for Christmas?

Excerpt

Grady tried not to flinch as he met his father’s cold, gray-eyed stare, eyes so very much like his own. “I don’t like parties,” he stated flatly, knowing it went much deeper than that, but he wasn’t about to try to explain. His father had never understood him, and he never would.“I don’t give a shit about what you like and don’t like. No son of mine is going to be an idiot and a coward. Man up and do what’s expected of you,” his father growled. “Downstairs. Five minutes. And try not to act like a fool for a change.” Martin Sinclair turned around and left without another word.

Grady let out a huge sigh, glad that his father was hosting the annual Christmas party and probably didn’t have more time to rake him over the coals for not being the man he wanted all of his sons to be. Martin Sinclair wanted every one of his children to be just like him, and Grady knew he was…different. He didn’t want to be, but he was, and at the age of eighteen, he knew he’d never be like his father. Walking to his closet, he pulled out a suit and tie, shucking his jeans and t-shirt to put on more formal clothing. Nothing less than a suit and tie would do, and if he couldn’t act like a Sinclair, at least he would dress like one.

Book Two: A Mermaid Isle Christmas by Cali MacKay

Once Aidan Nordson made his fortune, he was finally able to leave behind the world that left him broken and scarred. Escaping to Mermaid Isle, all he wants is to be left alone to live his life and deal with his demons, but when a blizzard hits and strands Chloe Madison at his door, the gorgeous and feisty brunette stirs feelings in him he’d rather push away. Forced together by fate and circumstance, can Aidan let go of the past that haunts him so he can learn to love again or will the storm in his heart swallow him in its darkness?

Excerpt

Aidan got ready to hunker down for the nor’easter that was threatening to hit Mermaid Isle. Maine winters could certainly be brutal, but this storm had veered from its original course and now threatened to be one for the record books. It would guarantee the island a picture-perfect, snowy white Christmas, though that did little to ease the demons that tormented him this time of year.

His pantry was well-stocked, he had a cord of wood for his fireplace, and a generator that should kick in if he lost power. He even had a bottle of whiskey should the need arise, though more often than not, he chose to live with the pain rather than dull it.

It usually helped to stay busy, and he’d found that woodworking and making handcrafted furniture was the only thing that brought him some semblance of peace. Not that it would be enough with the holidays approaching.

The wind started to howl and whistle as icy flakes of snow whipped against the large windows. He stoked the fire and added another piece of wood when there was an unexpected knock at his door, sending his shaggy hound into a barking fit. “Whist, pup.”

Who the hell was out in this mess? He then thought of his cousin, Lucy, who’d recently moved in down the road with her husband and was nearly five months pregnant. Panic snaked through his chest as he yanked the door open, worried she was somehow in trouble.

The person on his doorstep wasn’t his cousin, and it sure as hell wasn’t anyone else he recognized either. She looked like Snow White—porcelain skin with rosy cheeks, black as night hair, ice blue eyes, and lush, naturally red lips. Definitely not a local, though what the hell she was doing out in this bad of a storm, he hadn’t a clue. And it was really coming down now. “Can I help you?”

J.S. Scott is a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic romance. She’s an avid reader of all types of books and literature. Writing what she loves to read, J.S. Scott writes both contemporary erotic romance stories and paranormal romance erotics. They almost always feature an Alpha Male and have a happily ever after because she just can’t seem to write them any other way! She lives with her husband in the picturesque Colorado Rockies.

Cali MacKay lives in New England with her husband, two girls and their crazy mutt. When not tapping away on her laptop and getting her characters into trouble, she can be found designing book covers for other authors, wrangling her girls, and splicing DNA. She’s also a decent potter, adventurous cook, and horrible gardener.